


A Story of Salt and Sugar

by CreepingThistle



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:43:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25966069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreepingThistle/pseuds/CreepingThistle
Summary: When a small clan is forced to flee their former home, only seven were brave enough to cross the treacherous waters in search of their destiny. Now, stranded on a hostile volcanic isle, Bravestar and her new deputy Blushnose have only the fragmented prophecy of their dead medicine cat to guide them to where they're destined to be. They must quickly find a clan of cats that desperately needs their help before they're torn apart forever. However, soon the clan unexpectedly comes across the strangest group of cats they'd ever thought imaginable, and their decisions quickly turn dire.**This story soon takes a strange and unique turn. This piece has been sitting in my head for several months, and has turned into a writing exercise in stretching my imagination while using the world of Erin Hunter as guidance. Only OCs are present in this work- no cannon Warriors will ever appear in this story.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	1. Castaways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When a small clan is forced to flee their former home, only seven were brave enough to cross the treacherous waters in search of their destiny. Now, stranded on a hostile volcanic isle, Bravestar and her new deputy Blushnose have only the fragmented prophecy of their dead medicine cat to guide them to where they're destined to be. They must quickly find a clan of cats that desperately needs their help before they're torn apart forever. However, soon the clan unexpectedly comes across the strangest group of cats they'd ever thought imaginable, and their decisions quickly turn dire.  
> **This story soon takes a strange and unique turn. This piece has been sitting in my head for several months, and has turned into a writing exercise in stretching my imagination while using the world of Erin Hunter as guidance. Only OCs are present in this work- no cannon Warriors will ever appear in this story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allegiances: http://apawineachworld.com/untoldlegacy/?shareGuid=f1885d5b-9259-9d80-f1d2-89964b816dc0  
> Art in allegiances done by: https://peanuts-designs.tumblr.com/ (Commissions open!)
> 
> **Thank you for reading the first chapter in what is a huge project. I never intended to post this story online, but my hope is that I can simply share my universe and inspire others somehow.

The hot sun was high over the sea, waves crashing relentlessly along a black sand beach. When the ship docked, five cats slipped silently off the wooden twoleg vessel, weaving through the legs and wandering hands of boardwalkers. One, a tall white and pale yellow tabby, was anxiously on high alert as they followed the group of cats.

“Bravestar, where are you taking us?”

“She has taken us straight to the underworld!” Yowled another, a young black tom who refused to step paw onto the black sand.

Their leader turned to them, concern and understanding in her yellow eyes. “No, Lonebriar- we are at the rocky place. This is where we are meant to be.”

Bravestar led the others across the cold silt, with Lonebriar leaping uneasily behind them. “The others are waiting for us, beyond the hills.” Her silver pelt prickled when she saw that no hills were in sight. None of the other three cats dared voice her concern aloud. Instead, the tabby questioned her, “Where is Blushnose?”

Their leader abruptly turned, ears flat against her head, and scanned the boards for her deputy. Voice lowered, she grimaced and yowled, “Blushnose!”

The cat was still on-deck, rubbing her small body in and out of the legs of a young Boardwalker. The human child smiled and scratched her haunches, and in the moment her name was called, she paused, and then stiffly leaped down the wooden structure on short legs, leaving the boardwalker frowning behind her. “Sorry, Bravestar.”

“What were you doing?”

“Saying goodbye. I won’t see her again for five sunrises,” and then quickly added, “And she feeds us more if we do this.”

Bravestar swished her tail, but did not voice her annoyances. “Very well. Come, we are leaving.”

Blushnose nodded, her eyes wide, and struggled to catch up with the pace of her tall leader. She didn’t venture to question where they were going, but saw they were headed towards the sun.

“Is this the place of prophecy?” Sourwind asked, her yellow tabby pelt easily keeping up with Bravestar.

Bravestar sighed, keeping her pace. “We don’t know. And we will never be able to ask Tamedoe.”

“How will we know, then?” The party crossed countless moss covered rocks, their surface foreignly tough against their paws.

“We will witness the Rainbow Sea and the Hole that Swallows the Earth.”

“We don’t even know what that means…”

“It’s all we have.”

When Sourwind, Bravestar, Rosefoot, and Lonebriar leaped up the bigger of the rough black boulders, Blushnose fell behind, scrambling up the boulder only to fall backwards onto the moss covered earth. Strengthening her muscles, she leaped again- this time she made it, carried up gently by Lonebriar, his fangs buried deeply in her cream scruff.

“Thanks,” she said quietly to him, and he nodded as they continued on their journey together.

Somewhere beyond this vast stretch of land lay a clan that needed their help- one they could live in. At least, those were the words of Tamedoe. After countless other sandly isles visited, still the prophecy had not been fulfilled. No earth-swallowing hole had been found, and no rainbow waters covered the land. And now, with their medicine cat drowned somewhere in the vast sea, they had only the words of a dead medicine cat to guide them.

“Hey, wait up…”

This time, Lonebriar didn’t hear her. He kept leaping from rock to rock, and slowly, the party left Blushnose behind.

Small trickles of blood were left on the rocks that Blushnose cleared, desperate to keep up with her clan.

\---

Dusk eventually fell quickly upon the cats, whose legs were all growing tired. Rosefoot, usually the quickest of them all, was now at a slow meander with the added weight of her unborn kits. Blushnose felt her claws filing down to dull points on the rough ground.

“This is not normal rock, Bravestar,” Lonebriar warned, and Blushnose knew he must be remembering the smooth, wave-crushed rock of their old home.

“No,” Bravestar said, her voice ringing clear through the night air, “This rock comes from fire.”

“From fire…” The new warrior repeated slowly, and saying the words aloud did not make them any more believable. He shook from ear to tail tip- if this rock was from fire, then they must be standing upon it, for not a single tree was in sight.

Eventually, before the party seemed like they could bear it no more, they reached an area where the hills flattened and the grass became longer underpaw. Only a few steps into such soft terrain left the cats laying on the cool grass, panting and exhausted.

“We must rest here for the night,” Bravestar said, and the rest of the cats seemed to fall limp under her validation. Bravestar, formerly full of resolve, rested her head flat on her own paws.

Once she saw the setting sun, Blushnose settled down a few tail lengths away from her leader. The two had a silent bond, both sharing concern, but never voicing it. The grass was cool against her belly, and soon, Starclan shined above them in a twinkling bliss.

“Tamedoe never warned me,” Blushnose ventured, and Bravestar twitched her ears in acknowledgement. “I didn’t know it would be this hard here. I’m sorry.”

“It is no fault of yours,” She replied, a gentle but firm response. “We couldn’t stay. We had to leave eventually.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing, as a medicine cat or deputy.” Blushnose pleaded, “Bravestar, it’s all too much. I cannot be a warrior, much less a clan deputy. I know Tamedoe left a hole in all of us, but we need a medicine cat, now more than ever. Please let me put my training into practice, whatever small amount of it I have.”

For a moment, Bravestar was quiet. “It’s going to be dangerous here,” she said finally.

“Which is why we need a medicine cat-”

“I can lose five lives in a day if we aren’t careful. Being deputy is not going to make you forget your medicine cat training, but being a medicine cat will make you an illegible heir in the eyes of Starclan. You must understand my decision.”

Blushnose opened her mouth to object, and then closed it again. She wanted to tell Bravestar everyone who could make a better deputy than her, but who? Sourwind picked fights with frogs. Rosefoot was a moon away from kitting Cloudshine’s kits, who was more focused on fatherhood than anything else. Lonebriar was petrified of being away from home.

Bravestar must have known what she was thinking. “You were my choice for a reason. Please hold your trust in me.”

Blushnose, too tired to argue, bowed her head. With her attention turned towards the sky, and Bravestar’s gaze torn away from her, Blushnose felt her eyes water.  
“Please, Tamedoe…” She trembled, “Give me a sign. Let me know everything's okay. May our ancestors watch over you.”

\---

The smell of burning sulfur washed over Blushnose’s fur and stuck like flies as she fell asleep. It didn’t take her more than a moment to realize she was dreaming.

Blushnose stood up, crystals sticking to her creamy fur, and struggled to walk through the murk.

“Tamedoe?” She said, trembling too much to shout. She felt buried in place, an unfamiliar stench around her that tickled the inside of her skull. “Starclan!” She tried at last, but the grey mist above her held no hint of the familiar glittering hope.

A shape appeared from the mist, and Blushnose yowled defiantly, her claws raking the muddy surface of the rock she stood upon. Every strand of fur on end, she spat and hissed at the shape before her.

Before her stood a cat unlike anything she had ever seen. Easily the size of an entire clan put together, this pale being towered before her, huge fangs dripping from either side of it’s maw. Slowly, the mouth opened, breath stinking of flesh blowing into her face.

 _“Star… clan?”_ It managed, the question sounding like boiling water.

“Starclan..” Blushnose repeated, losing all threads of hope when she looked into it’s endless eyes.

 _“Nej…”_ The monster growled, lowering it’s huge head to lock eyes with her. _“Nej, Starclan. Blodgammalt.”_


	2. A New Pecking Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lonebriar and Blushnose find a strange group of cats. But since they both outnumber and out-hunt Sweetclan, it is unlikely that they need any assistance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Allegiances: http://apawineachworld.com/untoldlegacy/?shareGuid=f1885d5b-9259-9d80-f1d2-89964b816dc0  
> Art in allegiances done by: https://peanuts-designs.tumblr.com/ (Commissions open!)

“Blushnose!”

Twitching her ear, Blushnose barely processed her own name. _‘Just one more moment of sleep…’_

“Blushnooooose…”

 _‘Ugh.’_ It was useless. Blushnose opened her eyes to the dreary, windy day, and found her fur was sticky with water droplets. She looked up at Rosefoot, who was standing shamelessly over her with a claw dug in her fur.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve been cramping,” Rosefoot explained, shifting her weight from her hips, “Is that normal? I’m due to kit soon. Could it happen early?”

“Is your body pushing?” Blushnose sat up, wiping a paw over her snotty nose. She was happy to attend to Rosefoot’s kits; it made her feel like a medicine cat again. And Rosefoot was all too eager to accept the doting attention.

“No, not a pushing, exactly, but a pressure! There’s this _pressure,_ you know? I’ve made dirt so many times last night that I think I will surely give birth the next time I do.”

“You’ll be fine,” Blushnose insisted, “But I do think it’s time you stopped trying to push yourself. Try to just relax, and drink whenever you can.” Now thinking about it, another worry hit Blushnose. How will she help this cat give birth in completely new territory, with no herbs she recognized? If Rosefoot was already in pain with just two kits, she must have a difficult time kitting later on.

She looked across the small enclave where they’d sheltered and locked eyes with Bravestar, who was deep in conversation with Cloudshine. Bravestar dismissed him with a swooping, fluffy motion of her tail and then made her way over to Blushnose through the fog.

“You’re awake,” Bravestar noted, with a hint of sourness in her voice. She regarded Rosefoot with just as much irritation. “And I think my deputy has better things to do right now than talk herbs.”

Rosefoot, slightly taken aback, just nodded her thanks to Blushnose and lumbered off to be with her mate.

Blushnose looked after her in barely subdued horror. With her ears laying flat on her head, she hissed, “Bravestar! She was in pain!”

 _“Relax…”_ Bravestar cooed, waving her tail and looking down at her with her familiar playful smile, “I didn’t mean anything by it.” Lowering her voice, she continued, “We _all_ know Rosefoot could get a thorn in her pad and act like she broke a leg.”

Blushnose shrugged. It was true that Rosefoot had a habit of being a bit more on the sensitive side than other cats, but she wasn’t going to brush off her worry for her kits as an overreaction. Eager to change the subject, she asked, “What are we doing today, Bravestar?”

“I’m glad you asked,” She stood to face her, her pelt beginning to weigh her down under the water droplets caressing the sky. “We need to scout this place out. You’ll go out and search this territory with Lonebriar. Cloudshine and I will be hunting, and Sourwind is going to stay here and look after Rosefoot.”

Thinking again of the scraping black rocks and wet, slippery moss terrain, Blushnose’s hope wilted. _‘I’d be much more useful here looking after Rosefoot while Sourwind goes to patrol…’_ Helpless, though, she nodded her head, and Bravestar waltzed away without noticing her discomfort.

Once Bravestar was out of earshot, Rosefoot hesitantly padded back to Blushnose, her tail betraying her high spirits despite Bravestar's bitterness and the rain. “Can I please do something? I know you told me to stop working, but…” She smiled deviously, and Blushnose knew that if Rosefoot had nothing to occupy her time with, they’d have a mess on their hands.

“Alright.. Collect some moss for me while I’m gone. There should be some dry clumps under these boulders somewhere. And if you find any fragrant plants, bring a sample back to me- but be sure not to eat anything!”

Shouldn’t have said that. A small bead of nervousness formed itself in her chest as she watched Rosefoot trot away before Blushnose was even done talking. _‘Damn it. Does nobody want to listen to me today?’_

She found Lonebriar busy chewing a stick under a small ledge of dark rock.

“Hungry?” She asked, settling on her haunches next to him and curling her tail around her front paws.

“Starving,” Lonebriar whined, before standing up. “We best get a move on before Bravestar chews us out. She’s already taken the hunting party outside the camp.”

“Alright”

\---

The rain eased significantly once Lonebriar and Blushbose had made considerable distance from their makeshift camp. The sky, while still a grey blanket overhead, was in clear view. Sunlight, however, was nowhere to be seen.

“This wind is different,” Lonebriar said after a mile of silence, “It goes to your bones. The rain, too. There’s no avoiding it. And this moss…”

“Yeah,” Blushnose replied, and couldn’t say any more over her panting.

“The rocks and the moss are peculiar in shape. You’d think there were sleeping cats under there.. GIANT cats! Look, there’s a paw here.” Lonebriar motioned with his tail to a hill ahead, and to Blushnose’s surprise, it really did look like a sleeping cat.

“You’re too superstitious,” She twitched her whiskers in amusement. Even being a medicine cat, she could tell that the rocks were just that- rocks. “Tamedoe said there used to be fire here a long, long time ago. Maybe the land got burnt, and that’s why there’s no trees.”

Her scientific suggestion didn’t stop Lonebriar from quivering each time they had to leap a narrow stream.

The faintest bright circle of a sun was high in the sky by the time the pair reached anything other than a bubbling sea of moss. Lonebriar stood atop a boulder and yowled- Blushnose struggled to catch up. When she did, her breath was taken away.

“Oh, Starclan,” She whispered, “This is home.”

Before them stretched an open, smooth field edged with sheer cliff faces and a small waterfall. Purple lupines and small yellow flowers covered every inch of soil in a blanket, and Blushnose could smell the familiar taste of numbing lavender.

Lonebriar hunched down, tucking his feat under his small dark body, and shut his tearful eyes tight. “My Stars…” He weeped, “I thought it was helpless. Blushnose, I really had no hope, I thought we would die here!”

“Well, we won’t!” Newly energized, she tumbled on short legs down the mossly slope and landed in the bunches of flowers. “This place is huge! It’s so fast that I can’t even see the end!” Bravestar would be so pleased. Her heart filled with eagerness to tell her the news. “Look, Lonebriar!” She urged the young tom to open his watery eyes, “These little flowers are the color of your eyes.”

“Really..?” He blinked open his eyes, and looked at the flowers. He immediately closed them again. “Starclan, they are! A daisy yellow. Is this a sign? Were we meant to be here?”

“I don’t know,” She said honestly, and ran through the fields, petals and burrs sticking to her pelt. Lonebriar followed her, easily able to catch up. “But it sure does feel like it.”

For a moment, they forgot what they were there to do and wrestled like a pair of squirrels. Lonebriar batted her in the side of the head with sheathed claws, and Blushnose bounced on his back, sinking her teeth into his scruff.

 _“Oww,_ enough!” He swatted at her, laying over on his side with his stomach exposed. Actually, Lonebriar and Blushnose were pretty good matches with it came to battle skills, and she didn’t know who it offended more- Lonebriar, who was up against a medicine cat apprentice that was never properly trained, or Blushnose, winning despite her height against a cat that had crippling anxiety in every aspect of his life.

“How do you like that? Just like when we were kits,” She teased, running off and shaking her pelt of pollen. “I always win.”

“Yeahh…” He stood up, a stark shadow against the brightness of flowers, and began to groom himself. “I don’t much like speaking of my kithood.”

“Ah.. sorry. I forgot.”

“It’s all spiffy, don’t worry about it.”

While Blushnose and Lonebriar weren’t siblings, she had regarded him as a brother for most of her life. The two were best friends during their apprentice training, even while Blushnose spent all of her time in the medicine den. Lonebriar always told her that he couldn’t remember a time he felt completely comfortable and safe in his own fur, especially during his younger months. She’d carelessly forgotten that life wasn’t as comfortable and carefree for Lonebriar as it was for her.

“Let’s look around,” Blushnose ventured as a soft breeze picked up, “It’s no use getting our hopes up for a new home if there’s no place for dens.”

“Sweetclan is used to sleeping under open sky,” Lonebriar mentioned as he followed her through the heather, “But to be frank with you, I quite enjoyed that outcrop last night. Lovely little thing. Care to look for something similar?”

“Sure, but-ow!” Blushnose tumbled foreward, her front right paw caught in the ground.

“Blushnose!” The hair rose on Lonebriar’s spine.

“I’m fine,” She reassured quickly, but the jolt of pain up her limb said otherwise. “Don’t worry.” She sniffed the loose dirt and roots. “Rabbit scent. There must be a lot of them. It’s such an old hole that I didn’t see it.” She shook out the sharp black pebble that had lodged itself between her two claws and cleaned the small wound.

Once Lonebriar had lifted her out of the hole, they made their way several fox-lengths to the foot of the waterfall.

“It’s loud,” Blushnose warned as they walked down the river, but Lonebriar didn’t seem bothered.

“I actually enjoy it.” He knelt at the water, lapping. “It’s freezing cold,” He replied, “But absolutely delicious.”

While they drank, Blushnose thought silently. “I think this seems nice so far," She mentioned after a moment, "I know we haven’t explored all of it, but… Bravestar will be so happy.”

“Bravestar will be over the moon with anything you tell her.”

“What do you mean?” Blushnose shook water droplets from her whiskers.

“I mean… aren’t you two..?”

After a moment of sincere confusion, Blushnose swatted her tail at him. “Mates? Starclan, no. Bravestar isn’t my type. I don’t think I _have_ a type.”

“Oh.. really?” Lonebriar blinked slowly. “I really thought you two were an item. I was genuinely convinced, I was.”

Curious now, Blushnose pressed him. “What made you think that?”

“More from her side than yours, I reckon.” He twitched an ear in embarrassment. “Er, well.. You sleep side by side often. And I suppose, just the general way she looks at you. Was a suspicion is all,” He said hurriedly at Blushnose’s embarrassed gaze.

“We’re just friends, I swear it.”

“I…. believe you..” Lonebriar’s fur rose in fear, looking beyond the she-cats shoulder.

“What?”

“Blushnose,” He began slowly, his voice trembling and low, “We have to go back. Now.”

“What, why? We just got here-”

It was too late. The shiny black tom was already gliding through the tall flowers, slippery as oil, running from an unseen enemy.

“Lonebriar, come-”

A scent hit her, stronger than any rabbit or fox she’d smelled in her life. Blushnose whipped around to face the other side of the river and saw a great colossal creature on four hard paws, drinking from the stream. It had hard branches on it’s head like a deer, but was larger with moss-like fur. It locked eyes with Blushnose, and just before her heart leaped out of her chest, it billowed a peaceful hot breath of air in her face and turned back to grazing.

“Amazing…” Blushnose said slowly, gathering the courage to face it. Carefully, she dabbed it’s whiskered muzzle with a sheathed paw, and the creature didn’t seem to mind, simply waving it’s large head in the opposite direction.

She crept forward through the grass, following the scent of where the creature had come from. She ignored the small throb of pain on her paw, and slid down hills and crevices until the smooth grass underpaw turned into a sandy hard silt. _‘I’m far from the valley…’_ She thought grimly, but was determined to see it through.

She looked around at the barren waste in front of her, a stark contrast to where she’d just been. The whole area smelled of a dirt-place, but she found it hard to care. A sea of hard sand lie before her, with small bubbling lakes of what looked like crystal clear water. A herd of creatures similar to the branch-headed one she’d met were across a pool of steaming liquid, nuzzling the dry ground and pawing at mud. Blushnose watched them warily, crouching behind a dead pine tree.

They were fascinating, really. Their beady eyes and large antlers could really be something scary, but the longer she watched them, the more peaceful they looked. ‘I guess if we want to survive here, we need to be like them. Patient, slow moving, and taking care of each other.’ She wished Lonebriar had stayed to see them now, peaceful elements of nature just living alongside her.

She got comfortable behind the tree, grooming herself and rubbing herself on the dead pine when she heard the voices of cats.

 _‘No way. Here?’_ Her pelt prickled with anxiety. Maybe these were the cats they were destined to save!

Blushnose crouched her small body behind the tree, spying out of the flaking sharp branches.

Slowly, moving like eels, seven cats began to encircle one of the branch-heads. The way they moved, heavy-stepped but lithe, reminded Blushnose clearly of the beast she’d seen in her dreams. She was reminded once again that the sky above her was so far from Starclan's reach.

When the biggest one of the group crept forward to catch a scent trail, she almost whimpered. It didn’t look like a cat at all. It was too tall, too sharp, almost like a dog. Their washed grey and brown fur was tufted like a coyote, and there were too many large and deep scars to tell where one muscle ended and another began. The rest, Blushnose noted, were definitely cats.

She peeked her small nose up out of the pine, about to call a greeting or get their attention, when one of the cats, a white tom with a red stripe down his back, sprang and landed directly on the neck of one of the branch-heads.

“No!” Blushnose wailed, but none of the other cats heard her. They were chasing the creature with a gleeful fire in their eyes, oblivious to any outside influence, and it was actually impressive that the tom who began the hunt never got bucked off.

The copper-backed tom called for his clanmates in a foreign voice as deep as metal, and one by one, they joined the fight. A graceful and lithe brown she-cat jumped at the front of the neck, clawing it, while the dog-like tom joined her, sinking deep fangs in it’s throat and drawing blood. A mangy, swollen-eyed white cat hooked her claws and teeth into the branch-head’s snout, and bit down until it began to buckle from asphyxiation.

 _‘They’re.. Killing it.’_ Blushnose was about to call out to them again when a whisper behind her made her jump.

“Blushnose!” A familiar voice hissed, full of trepidation and terror.

“Lonebriar!” Blushnose could have sobbed at the familiar voice, so much softer compared to these rock-cats. “What are you doing here?”

“Saving your tick-filled butthole! Lets go, please! They’ll _kill_ us!”

“They won’t kill us,” Blushnose replied, but doubt tinged her voice. She crept along the length of the dead tree, following Lonebriar’s tail back towards the valley and away from steaming vents.

Once they reached the safety of the grassline, she risked a glance over her shoulder at the strange clan of cats. While Lonebriar and Blushnose managed to sneak away unnoticed, the branch-head was now quiet on the ground. Six cats were tearing into the body, pulling away bloodied chunks of meat.

“Listen,” Lonebriar gasped, “Sometimes I am unreasonable. Sometimes I am not. Let’s _listen_ to me when I run away anyway, yeah? Take the gamble. I bet that nasty white one is behind us right now, just waiting to eat a small little snack of a cat like you! Starclan, they're going to track us back to camp! We'll be butchered, Blushnose.”

“We don't know that...”

"Did we just watch the same thing or not!? Just get a move on!"

Feeling sick, Blushnose followed Lonebriar back to their camp to report her findings.


	3. Blood Fueds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saltband faces devastating blows from the neighboring clan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATED ALLEGIANCES: http://apawineachworld.com/untoldlegacy/?shareGuid=f9495500-6d4d-8d8d-5e4d-b9c191c246ff  
> Icons in Allegiances done by: https://peanuts-designs.tumblr.com/ (COMMISSIONS OPEN)
> 
> The Saltband system is a little different, so I'll explain it here. There is a leader who gains their leadership through various trails, a guide (who is like a deputy, but elected), a shaman cat (A medicine cat), and then the hunters and berserkers. Hunters are more what you would consider warriors, but they aren't deeply trained for battle with other cats. Hunters catch prey, fetch water and supplies, and keep the band clean, nourished, and well fed. Berserkers are a select group of cats usually chosen at birth due to their aggressive nature. They are trained separately from the band for the sole purpose of combat with other cats and taking down alarmingly large prey when they get bored. Their strength is equivalent of dark forest training.
> 
> *Do you like my work? Do you hate it? I can't know unless you comment! Comments mean a lot to me, and they also keep my fic looking funky fresh on the search engine when I update, so please comment or kudos whenever you can! I look forward to talking with you and answering any questions you may have.

Within the eyes of these great, rolling green plains, Sweetclan was now an unwelcome guest. Their former home had not prepared them for the sheer differences that lie ahead. While they huddled together, freezing cold and longing for home, the vastness of the land lay before them. Some made of sharp, sponge-like rocks born from fire, while others formed heated vaults within the earth, eternally steaming up towards Starclan. On the other side of the mountain of green mosses and glittering rain, there was a still, circular lake of rainbow salts and alluring blue waters.

But here, there was no Starclan. Starry specters did not visit in the dead of night, bringing forth prophecies and extra lives. Here, in the depths of an arctic tundra, cats have learned to survive without the help of Starclan. These were the ancient fjords of Blodgammalt.

\---

“Fadir,” Said a small voice, and a white she-cat with black markings ducked her gentle head past a row of grey basalt columns.

“Smallwish,” A gruff tom purred, standing up on stiff white legs to greet his kin. “Who do we have here?”

“I’d like you to meet my mate,” Smallwhish said nervously. It was a simple request, but Jesper knew it couldn’t be that simple. The chunky tom sat a little ways back from the den, shifting nervously on his front paws.

“Is this the one you’ve been leaving home to see?” Fishhunter looked over her shoulder at the kittypet.

“Only as far as the docks, fadir.”

“The docks _are_ far. And for _him?”_ Fishhunter stood a pace away, his tail swishing. “Jesper, is it?”

“Yes.” Jesper, still sporting his red velvet kittypet bow, seemed as though he’d rather shrink away to nothing. Smallwish must have taken more from her mother. This old tom seemed tough, and the hook embedded in his lip didn’t bother him at all.

“Fishhunter. My daughter seems smitten with you.” Fishhunter then shakily rose on his hind legs, paws out.

Jesper, his face brightening with happiness, managed to balance on his hind legs, too. Smallwish had warned him about this, and they secretly practiced. Together, Fishhunter and Jesper batted out at one another in playful, welcoming custom- he had been accepted.

“Welcome to the band, Jesper.”

“I’m so glad to be here!”

“Why leave home?” Fishhunter asked, landing back down on the salty earth after the two had matched paws. “Food is much more reliable with boardwalkers.”

“My Boardwalkers haven’t come back in moons.”

Fishhunter twitched his torn black ear in apology. “Sorry, son.”

Jesper nodded simply.

Smallwish, elated from nose to tail tip that her mate was getting along with her father, decided to venture further. “Do you know where modir is?”

“Dovebelly should be back later. She went with Heavytail out to the lavender fields. Said the elder’s den was getting _stuffy.”_ Fishhunter droned. While this seasoned hunter was naturally still wary of any newcomer, it was obvious that Jesper’s inherent knowledge of band custom had surprised and impressed him. He let the two walk away with his blessing.

Jesper walked beside Smallwish, nearly toppling one another over in purring affection.

The tribe was busy, despite the many that were out hunting and the mist that threatened a rainy evening. Cherrymoon, their tortoiseshell leader, stood outside her mossy enclave, speaking with their guide Spinestar. The dark tom seemed concerned about something, but Cherrymoon continued talking, as encouraging as always.

The circular stone enclave where their shaman cat Ambercloud usually slept in was empty.

Fernfire sat over near a rock atop a patch of thick moss. She was sleeping heavily, unmoving with the exception of her breathing. However, as soon as the calico she-cat smelled a stranger, her eyes opened. She lifted up her head heavily, her crooked whiskers twitching.

“Sleep well?” Smallwish jested, leaning down to groom the she-cats ears.

“No better than usual,” She mumbled, “Whose this?”

“Jesper,” Jesper said, catching her attention confidently, and though he wanted to bat at her, he knew that the she-cat needed to initiate the welcoming.

Fernfire sniffed at his paws curiously, and then gazed back up at Smallwish with a knowing glance. “So he’s the father?”

Smallwish snapped her ears back, grimacing. “ _Nooo,_ I’m not having kits!”

“You should.” Fernfire stood perfectly balanced on her hind legs, and Jesper met her blow for blow. “Welcome to Saltband. Are you staying permanently?”

“I’d like to.”

“You should speak to Cherrymoon, then. I’m Fernfire, leader of the hunters. You’ll most likely end up being a hunter if you stay, so remember my face, okay?” She ended the batting with one blow to his ear, which sent him landing harshly back down on the mossy ground.

“Yes ma’am.”

As Jesper walked away from Fernfire, Smallwish regarded her friend with a kind smile before following him.

Jesper stalked nervously through the camp on chubby tabby legs. “This is a lot less nerve-wracking than I thought it would be, but also a lot more… you know?”

“I know.” Smallwish encouraged, but knew she truly didn’t. “You’re doing great. Everyone likes you.”

“I’m really thankful you guys aren’t clan cats. They _hate_ outsiders like me.”

Smallwish purred. “We’re all connected, you know.”

“Yeah,” Jesper was thoughtful, “I guess hating someone based on blood makes no sense.”

“Not inherently. Of course, it’s always more complicated than that.” Smallwish sauntered over to Cherrymoon, while Jesper once again trailed shyly behind.

Both Cherrymoon and Spinestar had their curious gazes on him now.

“Hello,” Spinestar said kindly, but Cherrymoon simply regarded him with a friendly gaze that was guarded with formality.

Jesper met Cherrymoon’s gaze. “H-Hello. My name is Jesper.”

“That’s a name?” Cherrymoon smirked.

“I-It’s what my boardwalkers called me.”

“And why are you here, Jesper?”

“I fell in love with one of your hunters, Smallwish. I met her by the docks several moons ago. I do not wish to be apart from her for any longer.” The admission was more emotional than Jesper was accustomed to, but it was the full, honest truth.

Now, he had Cherrymoon’s full attention. “Do you want to be inducted as a member of Saltband?”

“Those are my wishes, if you’d grant them.”

“He will need a mentor,” Spinestar mentioned, his hackles racked with shivering, uncontrollable spasms. “Do you know how to hunt?”

“Certainly.” Jesper declared proudly, and in his mind he praised the rainbow trout he had once fished from frozen waters.

Spinestar hummed, then glanced at Cherrymoon. “Softrusset and Smallwish together should be enough to teach him what he needs to know to support the band.”

Cherrymoon nodded thoughtfully. “I can tell you are a kind soul. You’re needed here, Jesper. In three hundred moons to come, may your kin lead this tribe to glory.” Cherrymoon loomed over him on her hind legs, batting Jesper as he rolled onto his back. Spinestar followed her, and together they bombarded him with sheathed paw-strikes.

“Welcome to Saltband, Jesper.”

“Welcome!” Spinestar laughed, and Jesper took one last beating over the head before giving his fluffy fur a shake.

“Go make friends with the others,” Cherrymoon said, happiness in her eyes. “And don’t forget to take your pick of the prey.”

“Oh, I will!” Jesper blinked gratefully. “Thank you, Cherrymoon!”

“Will you be keeping your boardwalker name?” Cherrymoon asked.

“Oh, certainly,” Jesper said, “And my ribbon. It reminds me of the home I used to have.”

Cherrymoon nodded sternly. “I’ll make sure every member respects your decision. I’m thankful you’ve come to us as your authentic self.”

Smallwish, unable to hold her excitement, lured Jesper to the side of the clearing and bowled him over in a playful pounce. They tossed up dust and scraps of moss, scaring the life out of the poor young Sky One, who scrambled for cover into the crevices of the black volcanic boulders that were the apprentice den. Smallwish hadn’t noticed him.

“We’re living together!” She cried, “No more night traveling. No more days long adventures.”

“No more,” Jesper sighed, and the two lied on the salty grit, purring in a heap.

Smallwish twitched her ears. “The berserkers are returning to camp.”

Smallwish smelled Jesper’s immediate fear-scent, sour and strong. “Oh…”

She bopped him in the side of the head. “Don’t worry, stupid. The berserker’s aren’t aggressive towards us, they protect us. My sister is a berserker, and you like her!”

 _‘No,’_ Jesper thought, thinking of Maggoteye’s backhanded insults and stinking pelt, _‘Actually, I don’t.’_ He forced a smile. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Smallwish’s first hint that something was wrong was when Ambercloud came into camp first, carrying a long bundle of crab apple bark and sticks of lingonberries. Her face was unreadable.

“Why is everyone so quiet?” Jesper asked, his hackles raised.

“Those are funeral herbs…” Smallwish muttered. “My mother, Dovebelly.. I haven’t seen her.”

“I’m sure she’s fine..”

Followed by Ambercloud, the Berserkers came into sight. Fearsong, the dark-furred brother of Cherrymoon, walked stiffly ahead into the camp. Maggoteye, Smallwish’s albino sister, didn’t even seem her usual self. Her good eye was glistening with guarded grief, and she wouldn’t meet the gazes of others. She simply saw Smallwish, and blinked gratefully at her. Copperstripe came next, carrying a bundle of fur on his back with the help of Hawkthorn.

Lastly, Echowolf, the leader of the berserkers, came into camp. He walked closely beside Running One. The apprentice’s eyes were hollow.

A wail rose from the camp, and Sky One came leaping from the apprentice den. His ears were plastered to the back of his head, and his eyes were crazed. “Modir! What happened!”

Copperstripe, devoid of emotion, gently lay down the lithe body of a slim ginger she-cat in the middle of the enclave. Jesper stared at her sticky bloody fur in alarm. Smallwish trembled silently next to him, too shocked to speak.

“No way anything but a bear did that…” Jesper said, blinking his eyes shut at the tang of blood in the air.

By now, the entire band was in the clearing.

“Softrusset!” Cherrymoon screamed, and before Spinestar could stop her, she covered Softrusset’s body with her own, shielding her from the sparse drops of rain that fell from the mist.

Sky One was still kneading at her red fur, and didn’t seem to mind Cherrymoon at his side.

“Softrusset was Sky One and Running One’s modir…” Smallwish said.

Jesper felt sick. “This is awful.”

“What happened!” Cherrymoon, fangs barred and hackles raised, turned on Echowolf. With as quickly as she snapped, Jesper wasn't surprised she was their leader. “I expect you to lead us! To keep us safe!” Suddenly, the air in the camp was hostile, and everyone's face was taught with either fear or grief.

Echowolf had a deep understanding on his grey face. “Cherrymoon, we aren't sure. She was alone. She was dead when we found her…”

_“Tell me where!”_

Echowolf hesitated. He met Cherrymoons furious gaze, and said, “A few leaps away from Lagoonclan’s border, on the western side of the rocks.”

After that, the camp could not be silenced. Cherrymoon screamed her grief to deaf ears, and Smallwish huddled close to her mate, begging for this to be over.

So much for a happy honeymoon.


	4. Moi Modir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saltband holds their funeral rite for Softrusset before Ambercloud discloses the truth surrounding her death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALLEGIANCES http://apawineachworld.com/untoldlegacy/?shareGuid=f9495500-6d4d-8d8d-5e4d-b9c191c246ff  
> Art in Allegiances done by peanut-designs on Tumblr
> 
> *Each kudos this chapter gets is a kiss that I will give Blushnose on the tippy top of her fluffy head.

Dusk began to settle over the looming, distant mountains of Saltband. Smoke tinged with the sulfur of the earth swept on the wind over the camp, and the cats that mourned in the clearing closed their wet eyes against the sting.

Ambercloud, their shaman cat, worked diligently around Softrusset’s body. Flowers edged the stone she lay on, and fragrant purple blooms created a sickening perfume when they mixed with her blood.

Running One gazed forward at her mother, emotionless and still, avoiding the gaze of Ambercloud. She only watched the predictable bobbing movements of her stubby tail as she licked red juices on Softrusset’s face, creating lines of color at the corners of her eyes and neck. She knew someone had to begin her funeral rights- but she knew it could not be her. Her limbs were weak with exhaustion that she didn’t understand.

Nobody was speaking. Some cats seemed furious. Copperstripe stared at her mother as though the young berserker would like nothing more than to dig his nails into the heart of her killer. Cherrymoon still would not properly mourn. Her face was contorted in a scary mask, the only movement in her body being the lash of a tail. Sky One still sat away from Softrusset, watching Ambercloud carefully.

It began slowly. A growl from Copperstripe under the arching ferns, only his glowing yellow eyes visible.

Cherrymoon hissed her fury at the clouds in the sky, allowing her face to be pelted with mist, baring sharp teeth no cat should ever be blessed with. 

Fishhunter scratched a rock, and began to pace. Echowolf, previously composed, had now made an imprint in the silt with his large paws from pacing in circles around Softrusset’s body for many minutes, taking breaks only to groom the side of Sky One’s head. When Sky One joined in, side by side with Echowolf, the band was enveloped in rage. Echowolf’s voice rang out in a throaty growl through the air, reciting words so old that Heavytail had them memorized.

“All blood will return to salt!”

Immediately, the band erupted in noise. Cherrymoon caterwauled, repeating his hymn.

“All blood will return to salt!”

“Her life has seeped within the earth!” Fearsong’s strong voice wavered over the others.

Screeches battered Running One from every corner until her blood was pounding a steady rhythm in her ears. Finally, drawn out from the supporting emotions of others, she wailed, her head buried in her paws. It was a pitiful noise, drowned out by the grief, fear, and anger of her band. 

Copperstripe lied his ears back, barreling through the sand until he was nose to nose with Fishhunter. “They’ll pay!” He growled, his lips drawn back and eyes locked with the elder’s.

Fishhunter lashed his tail at him, barring yellow teeth that showed his age. “Then let them pay! Let them pay with the blades I _know_ you have!”

Copperstripe glared at the scar below his eye, which disturbed the fur pattern on his face. “You _know_ I have them, all right…”

Fishhunter responded with a blow to his head, and the two grappled in the dirt, spraying fur and moss into the air. Nobody made the effort to break up their fight.

Dovebelly, who had wandered stiffly into camp only minutes after Softrusset’s body was laid to rest, shut her eyes solemnly outside the elder’s den.

Jesper, shaking next to Smallwish, asked her, “What’s going on? Will there be a war?”

Smallwish shook her head. “There’s no war. This is funeral custom.”

_“What?”_

“Let your locked emotions out. Don’t be afraid of them.”

Jesper’s eyes widened in alarm. “Forgive me, but I’m _afraid_ in general!”

“We lost a modir!” Running One’s best friend, Fernfire, was howling.

“A huntress!” Maggoteye screamed, in a throaty, smoke-filled voice.

“An artist!” Clarified Smallwish, and Jesper was shocked at the furious tone in her voice.

“She’s the only one who knew who my father was…” Running One cried, standing up to run her entire body alongside Fernfire. Guilt lay in her stomach, heavy as a stone, and when she tried to recall Softrusset’s death, her mind dammed her memories like frozen water, protecting her heart.

“One day, you’ll know the truth.” Fernfire’s words were so gentle and caring. How could Running One find her heart hurting at her comforting words, even now? All it did was make her cry more, gagging and spitting from the moisture on her face from the wind and her tears. Fernfire tried her best to clean them away with the rough lapping of a tongue.

Spinestar was trotting around the camp, freshly marking their territory as the death rite was passed onto Softrusset. 

“She adopted Sky One when nobody would have him!” Hawkthorn yelled from the decaying bush, and three or four cats caterwauled their agreement, including Fearsong, who yelled the fiercest gratification.

Sky One himself spoke up. “She treated me as her own son in blood!”

“We are all brothers in her blood!” Smallwish screamed, scratching at the rock Softrusset’s body was laying on. Some cats, including Echowolf and Dovebelly, echoed her decree. 

“I never got to meet her…” Jesper whimpered, quietly so that only Smallwish could hear him.

“You don’t sound very disappointed,” Smallwish urged, turning from the crowd to look at him with disgust.

“That’s not true,” He defended. “I am!”

“You are what?” Smallwish growled. Now, the majority of the berserkers, including Maggoteye, were staring at him.

“Devastated..”

“Why?”

 _“I never got to meet her!”_ Jesper hissed, and cheers broke out among the Saltband cats who heard his anger.

“Jesper never got to meet the woman I loved!” Cherrymoon’s voice rang out, and her anger was slowly being replaced by mourning. It cracked on the last word, and her voice was faltering.

“You are family to us,” Sky One pleaded to Cherrymoon, and the two fell to the ground a few yards away from the mourning place. Sky One had his head resting on Cherrymoon’s back, while her unsteady breathing eventually fell into sync with his.

Slowly, cat by cat, tensions within the band died down. It was dark by the time Fishhunter went limping back to Dovebelly’s side, who welcomed him with a throaty purr. Copperstripe sat next to Ambercloud on the other side of the clearing, picking out black and white fur from between his claws with his teeth. Ambercloud groomed a cut on his shoulder.

Jesper sat by Softrusset’s body, intrigued and saddened by the red markings on her face. Through the stalks of lupine and evergreen, he tried to memorize the scent of a cat he would never know.

“Are you proud of your clan now, Spinestar?” Echowolf pressed, approaching the band’s guide with an air of hostility. Echowolf, a tall and lanky creature, managed to loom over Spinestar like he was a kit. He waved his tail over to Softrusset, whose fur was still bright against the rising moon.

Spinestar managed to hold his head proudly, despite the looming sadness in the depths of his amber eyes. His spine muscles rippled with a twitch, and he replied confidently, “I cannot, and will not, be responsible for the actions of Lagoonclan any longer. I am giving my last life to Saltband.”

Echowolf twitched a scarred ear. “It could be kin of yours that killed her.”

Spinestar shook his small head. “I have no kin in Lagoonclan. No blood, and no kin.”

“It was not kin of Spinestar that killed Softrusset.”

Most cats remaining in the clearing turned to look at their shaman cat who had spoken. Through the darkness, her yellow eyes reflected directly back at Running One. Running One’s head was bowed with grief and shame, and she would meet the gaze of no cat.

“Are you saying you know who killed her?” Cherrymoon ran up to Ambercloud, crouching on all fours and looking up at her in astonishment. “And you’ve kept silent?”

Ambercloud grimaced with distaste when she got close, and for a moment, it looked as if she were going to attack their Hersir. “I wanted to give Running One a chance to mourn- even if she doesn’t deserve it.”

“How could you say such a thing!”

Sky One, unable to bear the weight of the sins that his sister carried, muttered an apology before stalking back towards the apprentice den in the rocks.

Fernfire was trembling next to Running One. “What does she mean?” She grappled desperately for an explanation, but Running One shook her head, not giving anything away.

 _‘Everyone, please, shut up, I can’t think…’_ Running One shut her eyes tighter. She couldn’t address Fernfire, not here.

Fearsong was listening now, along with Maggoteye and Dovebelly. Sky One was crestfallen, and stood disbelieving. 

“Running One killed her modir, Softrusset,” Ambercloud declared, and kept talking, even when a hiss broke out from Sky One, “I saw her die. She murdered her against the rocks by the border of Lagoonclan. Cherrymoon, this could have been avoided if you’d even bothered to listen to my prophecies when the girl was apprenticed.”

Cherrymoon was stuttering, at a loss of words. “I-I… I thought I did the right thing, delaying her apprenticeship, until we knew for certain she was a berserker…”

“Well, we delayed her apprenticeship for eight moons, and now we really know, don’t we?” Ambercloud stalked away from Cherrymoon, who was still crouched in shock.

“Softrusset could still be alive if Running One was taught how to control her instincts…” Copperstripe’s snide remark wasn’t subtle enough, and he got hit over the head six times in quick succession by Maggoteye, who gurgled, “Shut up, shut up, _shut up,_ you sniveling sack of puss! Ambercloud should have stopped her, she’s at fault!”

Copperstripe hissed back at Maggoteye. “What, and break her vow of peace as a shaman cat? What would happen if our only shaman cat got on the claw-side of a berserker in frenzy before even having kits?”

Fernfire backed away from Running One, who had to stop herself from crying out when her warmth was immediately seeped out of her pelt. “Fernfire…” She whimpered, but her best friend stayed back, avoiding her several feet away.

“But she was turning out to be such a fine hunter like her mother…” Cherrymoon, still bottled in grief, tried to find an explanation. “Why would she kill Softrusset?”

Ambercloud turned to Running One, disdain like poison in her spat words. “I don’t know, why did you bite her throat out?”

“I-I….” Running One racked her memory, and hit a wall. Suddenly, she couldn’t feel anything at all, not even the rocks beneath her paws. “I don’t remember anything. Not a single thing.”

Ambercloud again turned on their hersir. “She’s a _berserker,_ Cherrymoon. She didn’t have a reason. She lashed out for gods-know-why. She probably frenzied because we held her back from training for too long. I urge you, please make the right decision this time.”

Before Ambercloud could finish, Cherrymoon pelted away, barreling herself into the dark of her cave. 

Spinestar walked forward before Ambercloud could give chase, invisible through the night. “Forgive me. Cherrymoon cannot admit her faults, or act upon reason right now. This incident was a tragedy, and we are once again reminded of the beautiful and devastating power of our berserkers.” Spinestar faced Echowolf, who stood at Running One’s side. 

“Echowolf, as the leader of our berserker party, you are the most experienced fighter we have. Running One is several moons older than most apprentices, and by all accounts, it is a shame she doesn’t have her band title yet. I trust you will catch her up to speed in her berserker training, and teach her to quell her instincts.”

Echowolf bowed his head. “Of course, Spinestar.”

“And Ambercloud…” Spinestar narrowed his eyes at their shaman cat, who simply bounced her bobbed tail on the sand, “Learn to show some emotional control in tough situations.”

“Sorry, Spinestar… but it’s Cherrymoon’s fault Softrusset died.”

“I don’t care.”

Ambercloud scoffed. “You _don’t care_? Since when?”

“Ambercloud, could we not do this right now?”

Ambercloud stalked back off into her den with a hiss. 

“I’m sorry,” Echowolf whispered to Running One, “Emotions are high right now.”

“We understand what you’re going through,” Fearsong mentioned, and walked off into the dark.

“You’ll really grow into yourself, you’ll see,” Copperstripe said, and ran off behind him.

“I killed my only brother,” Echowolf admitted.

Their words of consolation fell on deaf ears. All Running One could see was the fluffy calico pelt and crooked whiskers of Fernfire ducking into the hunter’s den. 

_‘Please, don’t leave me, too..’_

**Author's Note:**

> Allegiances: http://apawineachworld.com/untoldlegacy/?shareGuid=f1885d5b-9259-9d80-f1d2-89964b816dc0  
> Art in allegiances done by: https://peanuts-designs.tumblr.com/ (Commissions open!)
> 
> **Thank you for reading the first chapter in what is a huge project. I never intended to post this story online, but my hope is that I can simply share my universe and inspire others somehow.


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